Free Agency

Posted on December 14, 2011 by christoph131

Free agency drama continues. It looks like the Lakers might be back in the hunt for Chris Paul, because the Hornets (owned by the league) are asking for 4 players and a pick from the Clippers, and they do not think it is worth it. They have a young team built for the future and wanted to keep most of that intact, rather than having just two players (Paul, Griffin). Most likely, he will not end up with the Lakers because the Hornets want a younger team, one that only the Clippers can help them out with. However, if the Clippers give away rising star Eric Gordon and a first round pick (from the Timberwolves so most likely a top 10 pick), it will be near impossible to resign Chris Paul after the season. They need someone else to attract him other than high-flying Blake Griffin.

Ever since Dwight Howard said he would only play for the Magic, Lakers, Mavericks, or Nets, many trade rumors have settled down. Until yesterday, when the Nets started to push heavily to get the big man to the Dirty Jerz.

On a quieter note, the Denver Nuggets re-signed Nene, the #1 free agent of this lockout-shortened season (Remember, Paul and Howard aren’t free agents yet).

B’s, Marchand Back on Track

Posted on December 14, 2011 by jtulz07

The Bruin’s expanded their lead in the Northeast Division with a win last night over the Kings. Leading the charge was Brad Marchand, netting two just a day after being fined $2,500 for his “slew-footing” incident in Pittsburgh last week. In hindsight, not that much of a fine at all, especially for a professional athlete. I think the league just wanted to show some muscle. I’ve seen much worse hits come out without any league repercussions. Regardless, it didn’t faze Marchand as he bounced back in style, scoring for the first time in 5 games, dating back to November 30. Marchand stated, “I’ve been benched plenty of times throughout my career, it’s nothing new, but the big thing is you have to respond and make sure you learn from it.” And he did just that. On the defensive side, Tukka Rask was a rock in net, recording his first shutout on the season, making 41 saves throughout the game. Remember, the Bruins didn’t have the big man on the ice tonight (Chara) so the defensive end was up for question last night. Anyways, Rask was there to hinder Chara’s absence and give the B’s a much needed victory, as they get back on pace to continue their dominance as of late.

Media Day – Celts Ready to Play

Posted on December 13, 2011 by jtulz07

If you didn’t catch it on Twitter this morning, I was lucky enough to be at the Waltham practice facility today for Celtics Media Day. For the most part, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Players come out sporting their team’s gear and are introduced to a number of media outlets. But after seeing and hearing all the Celtics players today, I feel pretty good about going into the season. All the big names were amped up to be back on the court, especially KG. They displayed a collected, confident presence about the team and an eager mindset to get the new guys settled in. The rookies were excited to start their careers on such a historic team, alongside several future hall of famers. Even Jeff Green was feeling good about things, as he was spotted taking shots prior to the event’s start. His message was simple: Don’t listen to the rumors. Keyon Dooling, a new face to the organization, expressed his excitement of becoming a Celtic, despite the 5 other teams he has been a part of. He even laughed off the incident he had with Ray while he was still on the Sonics. Overall a very friendly, funny guy. With some lingering doubt heading into the season prior to media day, spirits were high in Waltham today. I left the facility feeling much better than I have in the past few days. The boys are back in green and eager to put banner 18 up into the rafters. Good news all around for Boston Celtics fans!

2011 NFL Playoff Seeding Predictions

Posted on December 13, 2011 by davecouture

Playoff Prediction:

AFC

1. Steelers (13-3) – Pittsburgh has one tough game remaining on their schedule and that’s this weekend against the 49ers. I got them winning that one and also beating the Rams and Browns.

2. Patriots (13-3) – I have the Pats winning out against their rather easy remaining schedule, unfortunately they lose the tiebreaker to the Steelers.

3. Texans (12-4) – They luck out and get to play Carolina and Indy the next two weeks, but then have to face the Titans who I think will be fighting for their playoff lives in week 17. I see them losing that one.

4. Denver (10-6) – They lose this week to the Pats but then win out. If that is the case it doesn’t even matter what the Raiders for Chargers do.

5. Ravens (12-4) – They have two reasonably tough matchups remaining with the Chargers and Bengals. I see them losing one of them and getting the Wild Card.

6. Titans (10-6) – This is the sleeper team that I see passing the Jets. I see both the Jets and Titans finishing at 10-6 but the Titans will hold the tiebreaker by having a better conference record.

Left Out: Jets (10-6), Raiders (8-8), Chargers (8-8), Bengals (8-8)

NFC

1. Packers (16-0) – They should win out and clinch the 1 seed

2. Saints (13-3) – They have a reasonably easy remaining schedule as long as they can beat the Falcons, which I see happening. They steal the 2 seed from the 49ers.

3. 49ers (12-4) – They have two potential losses when they play this week vs. the Steelers, and when they go to Seattle the following week.

4. Cowboys (10-6) – It will more than likely come down to week 17 and I see them holding it together for a full 60 minutes and beating them. The overall conference record will be the tiebreaker.

5. Falcons (10-6) – I see them along with the Giants and Lions finishing at 10-6. Atlanta beat Detroit so they get the tiebreaker here.

6. Lions (10-6) – They will finish 3-3 in their division, as will the Giants, but it looks like Detroit will have the better conference record.

Left Out: Giants (10-6), Bears (8-8), Seahawks (8-8)

Check back in at the end of the Regular Season and I will have a full NFL Playoff prediction including who will win this years Super Bowl.

Pre-Free Agents

Posted on December 13, 2011 by christoph131

The NBA is basically revolving around Chris Paul and Dwight Howard right now and where they will end up, either before the season (12 days away) or during the season. Neither the Hornets or the Magic are willing to lose their stars after this season without getting something in return. Negotiations have re-opened between the Clippers of Los Angeles and the Hornets, to send Chris Paul to LA. The Clips have also won a waiver bid on Chauncey Billups. Although Billups has gone on record to say that he will not report to any training camp of a team that is not in direct contention for a championship this season, so we will see how that goes.

The Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard may be able to stay together if they can show that they want to make the Magic a legitimate championship contender by signing more stars around him, such as Billups. Might be kinda tough to get him away from the Clippers because they are looking to become the new number one team in LA with their young team. They think that they can overcome the old age of Kobe, Gasol, and Fisher, and constantly injured Andrew Bynum (now that they lost Lamar Kardashian). Even without Chris Paul, they are young and Mo Williams, Gordon, and Blake Griffin could spend a lot of years there. But can they compete for a title? Could they even win their division?

Tebow vs. A Bronco Legend

Posted on December 12, 2011 by nolankartholl

Needless to say, there were some pretty incredible tweets/status updates about Tebow yesterday. One in particular I found pretty solid was from a Jewish kid: “If the Broncos win the Superbowl, I’ll debate becoming a Christian.” However, with that being said, I’m not going to post about how much a winner Tebow is – at this point it’s a no brainer. Nor how much he sounds like he’s 12 when he does a post game interview – seriously though if he says “believe” one more time I might dropkick him. Actually, I’m going to talk about raw stats on this one. There is still a heated debate as to the success of Tim Tebow in the quarterback position; even Brian Urlacher made the comment last night that he was a “Good running back.” The CEO of BSB, none other than Jimmy Tully himself, enlightened me with some pretty interesting statistics that were featured on ESPN back in November, and I did some more research of my own to compare Tim Tebow and the greatest Denver Bronco in history, John Elway. In Elway’s rookie season, he amassed a 4-6 record in 10 starts, threw for 1600 yards and change, 7TDS, 14 INTs and had an abysmal 52% QB rating. In Tebow’s coming out party, he’s 7-1 in 8 starts, has thrown for 1300, 11TDs, 2INTs and boasts an 83.9 passer rating. This also does not account for Tebow’s rushing skills, which if you could have guessed absolutely demolish Elway’s. I know that it is difficult to compare these two individuals, as Elway may have had more “Raw QB Talent,” but I think these numbers surprise even the biggest Tebow critic. The whole nation is rallying around this guy. Couple that with his will to win and his drive to improve? I like the sound of that.

6th Grade Basketball Phenom

Posted on December 12, 2011 by jtulz07

Danny, get this kid a contract!

Xavier, Cincinnati Game Ends With Bench Clearing Brawl

Posted on December 12, 2011 by davecouture

As I’m sure most are aware, there was a bench clearing brawl with just seconds left in Saturday’s Xavier vs. Cincinnati NCAA basketball game. The game was very physical in the first half, and both coaches were warned during halftime that actions would be taken if it didn’t stop. With just under 10 seconds left in the game, a player from each side started pushing and shoving, which led to Yancy Gates throwing the basketball at a Xavier player along with several punches, one which drilled Xaviers Kenny Frease directly in the face sending him to the floor. That wasn’t all Frease got. While he was on the floor attempting to get up, Cincinnati’s Cheikh Mbodj decided to kick him in the face. The fight eventually ended and the game was called with just under 10 seconds left. Yancy Gates received the longest suspension, six games, while the others got anywhere from one to four games.

What I find most disturbing is Cheikh’s Mbodj’s actions. What a coward. You can see in the video he pretty much had nothing to do with the fight and the only thing he can think to do is kick the guy in the face while he’s down. There is absolutely no room in sports for things like that. That guy is a complete coward and should be suspended longer than anyone else involved. An Ohio prosecutor also said he is considering bringing charges against some players involved.

This brings me to the other two players would made absolute idiots of themselves during their postgame press conferences. Xavier guards Tu Holloway, and Mark Lyons. When asked about the fight they replied by saying “That’s what you’re going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati, we got disrespected a little bit before the game, guys calling us out. We’re a tougher team. We’re grown men over here. We’ve got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room — not thugs, but tough guys on the court. And we went out there and zipped them up at the end of the game.”

How stupid can two kids that attend Xavier University be? Apparently pretty stupid. The only reason most of these “gangsters” are able to attend these schools is to play basketball, not do what they did back on the streets. Yes, Yancy Gates deserved the six game suspension, but it should not have been the longest suspension handed out from this mess. Just because of their stupidity and unprofessional manners, both Tu Holloway, and Mark Lyons should be severely punished. It was a disgrace that this happened in the first place, but then when they are given a chance to show remorse they acted like the thugs they truly are and referred to themselves as gangsters and basically said Cincinnati had it coming. That’s class at his finest. Both schools ought to send those gangsters a message and show them that their actions are not acceptable by suspending the players involved for a minimum of 10 games.

MNF Pick ‘Em – Week 14

Posted on December 12, 2011 by davecouture

Monday, December 12, 2011

Rams @ Seahawks 8:30 PM

Tonight the Rams head to Seattle to take on the Seahawks on Monday Night Football. This seems to be the norm for the prime-time schedule this year; two underachieving teams. This certainly won’t live up to the shootout that was on prime time last night when the Giants came from behind to beat the Cowboys. The Seahawks come off a long week after their impressive stomping of the Eagles last Thursday night, and like I said last week, I would not want to be a team that is fighting for a playoff spot that has to face the Seahawks. They have gotten it together later this season and I expect it to continue. It looks like Kellen Clemens will be making the start for the injury depleted Rams and that certainly doesn’t look to fare well for their chances of leaving with a victory.

Prediction: Seahawks 24 Rams 10

Gronk Nation Lives On

Posted on December 12, 2011 by jtulz07

Welcome to Gronk Nation! (as if you needed an introduction) You can talk about Tim Tebow all you want, and don’t get me wrong I’ve hopped on the Tebow bandwagon, but we’ve got our own Messiah right here in New England. Rob Gronkowski. Fourteen weeks into his breakout season, Gronk set the NFL tight end receiving touchdown record with 15 thus far, passing both Vernon Davis and Antonio Gates, both with 13. Now, there’s no need to complain but what gets me here is the whole “receiving touchdown” record. The all-time single season record for touchdowns, in general, by a tight end was also 13, by the same two guys. Gronkowski had 14 total coming into this week’s game, so as far as the record is concerned, he broke it last week against the Colts. This week merely improved his record to a total of 16 TDs. But the NFL is the NFL and they have their guidelines and what not on how to determine records so I guess he did it this week. In a sense, he actually broke two records. Receiving touchdowns and total touchdowns. Gronk now sits pretty in the record books two “receiving touchdowns” (three if your want to be realistic) ahead of the the next guy with a bit more football to play.

And on a side note, Gronk went absolute beast mode (per usual) on those two Redskins defenders. I mean having the skill to make a diving catch, the intelligence to get up and run immediately, the power to drag them 5 yards down the field on his back, the command to stay in bounds, again the intelligence to keep running with the play, and finally the absolute beast mode mentality that it takes to turn a short pass play for a first down into a 49 yard explosion that set up his record breaking touchdown reception. Boom! Get Gronk’d!